HTC CEO Peter Chou Dismisses Rumored Apple Licensing Details

Earlier this month, we told you about the latest news in the ongoing legal posturing between Apple and HTC, with word that the two companies had finally come to an understanding. Together, they signed a ten-year licensing agreement that would hopefully put an end to any further disruptive lawsuits concerning the pair. While the details of the agreement weren’t made public, that didn’t stop some analysts from commenting on the situation, and one rumor that started getting a lot of traction was the idea that HTC might have agreed to pay Apple something like six to eight dollars per phone. It turns out that the estimate may be way off-base, as now HTC CEO Peter Chou has spoken up about the rumored licensing payouts, making it clear that the actual figures are quite a bit different.

While Chou declined to get into specifics, he calls the six-to-eight-dollar estimate “outrageous”, suggesting that we’re looking at a number that’s significantly lower. Furthermore, he went on to describe the arrangement as leading to “a very, very happy settlement and a good ending”. That doesn’t give us much to go on, but maybe something in the three-to-four dollar range would be more sensible.

The question remains if we’ll see other OEMs ink similar deals to avoid Apple’s legal wrath.

Stephen has been writing about electronics since 2008, which only serves to frustrate him that he waited so long to combine his love of gadgets and his degree in writing. In his spare time, he collects console and arcade game hardware, is a motorcycle enthusiast, and enjoys trapping blue crabs. Stephen's first mobile device was a 624 MHz Dell Axim X30, which he's convinced is still a viable platform. Stephen longs for a market where phones are sold independently of service, and bandwidth is cheap and plentiful; he's not holding his breath. In the meantime, he devours smartphone news and tries to sort out the juicy bitsRead more about Stephen Schenck!